Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T01:59:48.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The role of linguistic perception in later phonological development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Shelley L. Velleman
Shelley L. Velleman*
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General HospitalNeurolinguistics Laboratory
*
Shelley L. Velleman, 10 Morning Star Drive, Hadley, MA 01035
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that certain sound substitutions in older, normally developing children are perceptually based substitutions, typified by poor discrimination, while others are phonetic substitutions – phonemic distinctions that are maintained by the child in a phonetically non-adult fashion. The perception and production of English voiceless fricatives in twelve normally developing monolingual children aged 3;2–5;6 was investigated using a picture-pointing task, audio recordings, and acoustic analysis. Results include significant correlations between production and perception scores for /θ/ but not /s/ and significant acoustic differences in substitutions of [θ] for /s/ (versus productions of [θ] for /θ/) but not in substitutions of [f] or [s] for /θ/. It is suggested that substitutions for /θ/, with the correlated poor discrimination, may indicate a non-adult phonemic representation, while substitutions for /s/ tend to have a motoric basis in older children. Stages in the acquisition of /θ/ are hypothesized.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , September 1988 , pp. 221 - 236
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abbs, M., & Minifie, F. (1969). Effect of acoustic cues in fricatives on perceptual confusions in preschool children. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 44, 1535–1542.Google Scholar
Barton, D. (1976). The role of perception in the acquisition of phonology. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Stanford University.Google Scholar
Barton, D. (1980). Phonemic perception in children. In Yeni-Komshian, G., Kavanaugh, J., & Ferguson, C. (Eds.), Child phonology. Vol. 2. Perception (pp. 97–116). New York: Academic.Google Scholar
Borden, G., & Harris, K. (1980). Speech science primer: Physiology, acoustics, and perception of speech. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins.Google Scholar
Daniloff, R., Bishop, M., & Ringel, R. (1977). Alteration of children's articulation by application of oral anesthesia. Journal of Phonetics, 5, 285–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daniloff, R., Wilcox, K., & Stephens, M. (1980). An acoustic-articulatory description of children's defective /s/ productions. Journal of Communication Disorders, 13, 347–363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dinnsen, D., & Elbert, M. (1984). On the relationship between phonology and learning. In Elbert, M., Dinnsen, D., & Weismer, G. (Eds.), Phonological theory and the misarticulating child. ASHA Monographs No. 22. Rockville, MD: ASHA.Google Scholar
Eilers, R., & Minifie, F. (1975). Fricative discrimination in early infancy. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 18, 158–167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eilers, R., & Oller, D. (1976). The role of speech discrimination in developmental sound substitutions. Journal of Child Language, 3, 319–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eilers, R., Wilson, W., & Moore, J. (1977). Developmental changes in speech discrimination in infants. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 20, 766–780.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gierut, J. (1984, 05). A further characterization of functionally misarticulated speech. Paper presented at the Ninth Annual Conference on Language and Linguistics, Minneapolis, MN.Google Scholar
Gierut, J., Dinnsen, D., & Elbert, M. (1984, 11). The implementation of a remediation program based on phonological knowledge. Paper presented at the convention of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), San Francisco, CA.Google Scholar
Gierut, J., & Elbert, M. (1983, 11). Phonological knowledge and the selection of training targets. Paper presented at the convention of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), Cincinnati, OH.Google Scholar
Graham, L., & House, A. (1971). Phonological oppositions in children: A perceptual study. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 49(2), 559–566.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoffman, P., Stager, S., & Daniloff, R. (1983). Perception and production of misarticulated /r/. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 48, 210–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hotelling, H. (1931). The generalization of student's ratio. Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 2, 360–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, C., Hardee, W. P., & Long, S. (1981, 11). Perceptual basis for phonological simplification of the fricative class. Paper presented at the convention of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), Los Angeles, CA.Google Scholar
Ingram, D., Christensen, L., Veach, S., & Webster, B. (1980). The acquisition of word-initial fricatives and affricates in English by children between 2 and 6 years. In Yeni-Komshian, G., Kavanaugh, J., & Ferguson, C. (Eds.), Child phonology. Vol. 1. Production (pp. 169–192). New York: Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kornfeld, J. (1971). Theoretical issues in child phonology. Proceedings of the Chicago Linguistic Society, 7, 454–468.Google Scholar
Kuehn, D., & Tomblin, B. (1977). A cineradiographic investigation of children's w/r substitutions. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 42, 462–473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lester, L., & Skousen, R. (1974). The phonology of drunkenness. In Bruck, A., Fox, R., & Lagaly, M. (Eds.), Parasession on natural phonology (pp. 233–239). Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society.Google Scholar
Locke, J. (1980). The inference of speech perception in the phonologically disordered child. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 45, 431–468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Macken, M., & Barton, D. (1979). The acquisition of the voicing contrast in English: A study of voice onset time in word-initial stop consonants. Journal of Child Language, 7, 41–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maxwell, E. (1984). On determining child underlying phonological representations: A critique of the current theories. In Elbert, M., Dinnsen, D., & Weismer, G. (Eds.), Phonological theory and the misarticulating child. ASHA Monographs No. 22. Rockville, MD: ASHA.Google Scholar
Maxwell, E., & Weismer, G. (1982). The contribution of phonological, acoustic, and perceptual techniques to the characterization of a misarticulating child's voice contrast for stops. Applied Psycholinguistics, 3, 29–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, G., & Nicely, P. (1967). An analysis of perceptual confusions among some English consonants. In Lehiste, I. (Ed.), Readings in acoustic phonetics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Minifie, F., Hixon, T., & Williams, F. (1973). Normal aspects of speech, hearing, and language. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Nartey, J. (1979). A study in phonemic universals - Especially concerning fricatives and stops. UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics, 46, 1–63.Google Scholar
Smith, K. (1962). Delayed sensory feedback and behavior. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.Google Scholar
Snedecor, G., & Cochran, W. (1967). Statistical methods. 6th ed.Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Stoudt, R. (1964). A study of consonant discrimination by aphasics. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Templin, M. (1947). Certain language skills in children: Their development and interrelationships. Institute of Child Welfare Monographs, 26.Google Scholar
Tikofsky, R., & McInish, J. (1968). Consonant discrimination by 7-year-olds: A pilot study. Psychonomic Science, 10(2), 61–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Velleman, S. (1983). Children's perception and production of English voiceless fricatives. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.Google Scholar
Weismer, G., Elbert, M., & Whiteside, J. (1980). /s/ spectra in the speech of normally-articulating preschool children and adults. Paper presented at the 100th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Los Angeles, CA.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wellman, B., Case, I., Mengert, I., & Bradbury, D. (1931). Speech sounds of young children. University of Iowa Studies in Child Welfare, 5.Google Scholar